Bob The Banana came into our lives when we lived in south Florida. (That’s Bob in our backyard with Julia when she was seven years old).

Several years ago, my friend Madora’s mother was very ill. During this time, Madora’s neighbors had gone to Disney and won Bob in a game. Thinking that he would cheer her up, they drove back from Disney to Coral Springs with him. When Madora opened her front door that day, imagine her surprise to see a 6 ft. tall velvet banana on her doorstep! She christened him Bob, stationed him where she would see him everyday, and Bob fulfilled his purpose by making her smile during a sad and difficult time.

Following her mother’s death, Madora decided to have a garage sale, so the kids and I went over one afternoon to help her set up.

Bob was the first thing they saw and it was love at first sight.

Seeing their total delight, Madora insisted we take him home with us.

How could I say no?

So, Madora helped me stuff Bob into our van and I drove home, all the while wondering what Doug would think of this new–and very cumbersome–addition to the family.

Bob was an instant hit.

When you live in south Florida, you always have a ton of visitors. Someone came up with the great idea to take a photo of Bob with each guest and create a separate album, so that’s what we did!

Here are a few of our good-natured visitors:

This is my cousin Johanna, who was in town to plan her wedding to the fabulous Matt in Key West. People often tell me that we look like sisters…I take that as a huge compliment. 🙂

This is my mom’s cousin Elaine. Or, as we call her THE Elaine because there is only one. Elaine is one of those people who is larger than life. Wherever she goes, a party is sure to follow. This particular day, Elaine chose to have her photo taken with Bob in the front yard. We had no way of knowing that this photo-op would coincide with a showing of our next door neighbor’s home that had been on the market for quite some time. I have no idea why that couple never made an offer and became our neighbors. What’s the big deal about seeing a 6 ft. banana preparing for his close up in the front yard?!

This is my friend Jenn from Rhode Island and her adorable son Evan. He did not look like he was too sure about Bob! Or the color of that accent wall.

This is our nephew Tony and my husband Doug by the pool. Tony was the ring-bearer in our wedding 18 years ago. He is now married with a son. Time sure does fly. Bob loved to lounge by the water and soak up the rays. Now that he lives with us in the mountains of New Hampshire, those days are long gone. Poor Bob.

I do have one regret about Bob. Our friend Darrin is an award-winning auto-cross driver who also lived in Florida. We always intended to put Bob in the passenger seat of Darrin’s Miata (complete with a helmet, of course) and watch him take a spin around the track! That would have been a cool photo!

Even though we now live in the northeast, we have continued the tradition of having of our guests pose for photos with Bob. Strange, though…we don’t have nearly the amount of visitors we used to have when we lived in Florida! Especially during the winter months. Hmmm…

No matter where life finds you, I hope that laughter will be a part of your day. If you don’t feel that you have anything to laugh about, then hopefully these photos of Bob will at least cause you to smile. 🙂

Wow-so many puns come to mind, like “slipping into the past”, ap”peal”ing stories and photos…thanks for the many smiles and treasures. I, too, look forward to hanging around with Bob like the rest of the bunch!